A magnetic evening of Kathak

Nrityanchal has been one of the leading dance companies in Bangladesh for over a decade. To celebrate their success in the dance firmament, the troupe organised a three-day festival, Nrityanchal Utshab 2016, from April 27-29, which happens to be International Dance Day.

The curtains were raised on the first night of the festival with a set 'Kathak Sandhya' at the National Theatre Hall Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), to a soulful guru vandana, presented by what seemed like an incalculable swarm of dancers adorned in serene blue and white costumes. The vandana was followed by a welcome speech presented by the directors of the festival and co-founders of Nrityanchal, Shibli Mohammad and Shameem Ara Nipa. They were joined on stage by the coordinator of Nrityanchal, Muhammad Jahangir, as well as the chief guest for the evening, Bharatanatyam virtuoso Leela Samson and special guest, artist Mustafa Manwar. Subsequently, the director duo paid homage to Gurumata Rahija Khanam Jhunu for her countless contributions to dance over the years.

The first performance of the Kathak Sandhya was a pure classical segment, presented by a group of eight senior students of Nrityanchal, covering tukra, tehai, paran, amad, gat nikas and lari amongst others on teentaal, accompanied by live musicians. Following this, a solo thumri was performed by Monira Parveen Happy, which personified Radha-Krishna's activities during a Holi festival. The show progressed with a number of pure classical pieces including a tarana and a gat bhao named “Makhan Chor”. Next, the performers presented a rather unique routine combining several Bollywood dance items, which were originally Kathak choreographies, taken from movies ranging from “Mughal-E-Azam” to “Bajirao Mastani”. The last performance, entitled “Pathshala”, brought to stage 200 students of Nrityanchal performing fragments of Kathak, such as tukra and tehai, in subdivided groups. The evening concluded with the two directors joining the students on stage for a footwork finale. Kathak Sandhya was choreographed by Shibli Mohammad and dedicated to his guru, Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj.

On the second day of the festival, Srishti Cultural Center, in collaboration with Nrityanchal, staged their production “Badi Bandar Roopkotha”, which is based on the story “Alibaba O Chollish Chor”. The final set of the festival will be performed today by underprivileged children as well as children with special needs at the Nandan Mancha of BSA.